As part of our Christmas/New Year appeal and in order to help us raise some much needed funds to neuter feral cats in county Cork, Community Cats Network have organised a raffle with some fantastic prizes kindly sponsored by local businesses and supporters. The draw will take place on the 11th of January 2019 in Harty’s Pub in Cloyne.

Tickets are only €1 each or €5 for a book of 6 tickets, but by buying one, you could make a massive difference to the lives of feral cats. They can be bought online (books only) or from one of our volunteers. If you would like to help us by taking some books of tickets to sell to friends, colleagues and family, please get in touch! Photo of your ticket(s) will be emailed to you when buying online. For alternative methods of payment, please email us at communitycatsnetwork@gmail.com.

Note that if collection of prize cannot be organised locally (county Cork), postage will be at your own charge.

We will also have In-House Prizes on the night (reserved to Harty’s patrons buying tickets on the night).

We would like to thank all the businesses and supporters who have sponsored this raffle, as well as Harty’s Pub for hosting the draw. A huge thank you goes out to all the supporters who have bought a ticket and to all the volunteers who have sourced prizes and sold tickets for us.

Tickets are only €1 each of €5 for a book of 6 and can be bought from one of our volunteers. They can also be bought online here (books only). Photo of your tickets will be emailed to you when buying online. For alternative methods of payment, please email us at communitycatsnetwork@gmail.com.

This little lady was found in Ballinacurra in November. She had been recently spayed, but none of the local vets could recognise her and she was not microchipped. Local residents minded her for a while, but she then disappeared and they assumed she had made her way home.

Unfortunately, this was not the case as she resurfaced in Ballycotton after travelling in a van we assume.

She is a young white and black female, very friendly, house-trained and we are convinced someone must be missing her terribly as they went through the bother of getting her spayed.

She seems to have a tendency to get in car engines and could have come from anywhere. Please, help us to reunite her with her owners. You can share on social media the “found posts” we have on Munster Lost and Found Pet Helpline and Lost and Found Pets Ireland. You can also help by printing the above poster and place in your local shops as her owners may not have internet access (download the PDF: 18 12 Recently spayed).

Community Cats Network, in partnership with Midleton Veterinary Hospital, have organised a neutering week. From the 12th to the 16th of November 2018 you can avail of a special rate for the neutering of your cat: €15 for a male and €25 for a female. The offer is limited to two cats per client/household.

The idea behind the scheme is to encourage pet owners to neuter their cat or strays they may be feeding. Cats can become pregnant as young as four months old and up to three times a year. The problem of cat overpopulation is partly caused by unneutered pet cats and, sadly, there are not enough homes for all the kittens being born. Not only neutering is an effective way to control the feline population, but it also significantly improves the health of the cats and helps to reduce the spread of diseases and lethal viruses such as FIV and FeLV.

All cats neutered through this scheme will be eartipped (the tip of the left ear will be slightly cut off while under anaesthetic). This is a standard practice used with feral cats to identify the neutering status of cats without having to bring them to the vet to undergo a 2nd unnecessary surgery (in 2017 only, 18 cats were brought to the vet by our organisation only to find out that they were already neutered). However, owners can decide to have their pet cat microchipped instead, but this cost will be at their own charge.

If you have a larger number of cats or cannot handle the cats, please contact us and we will be happy to assist you. You can read more information about our Trap-Neuter-Return programme here.

Availability for the Neutering Week is limited and booking is necessary. Call Midleton Veterinary Hospital on 021 4623672 to reserve. All cats should be brought in a secure pet carrier.

]]>https://communitycatsnetwork.wordpress.com/2018/10/31/neutering-week-nov-12th-16th-2018/feed/0communitycatsnetworkAnnual General Meeting – 5/11/18https://communitycatsnetwork.wordpress.com/2018/10/30/annual-general-meeting-5-11-18/
https://communitycatsnetwork.wordpress.com/2018/10/30/annual-general-meeting-5-11-18/#respondTue, 30 Oct 2018 19:33:13 +0000http://communitycatsnetwork.wordpress.com/?p=5736Our AGM for the year 2017 will take place on the 5th of November 2018 in the Boothouse Bar (Upper Glanmire) from 7pm. We will present reports for the past year.

The launch will take place on the 2nd of November, from 5 to 7pm, at Maxi Zoo in Midleton. Join us for some refreshments and a special surprise!

We will have a selection of our hand-crafted goodies for sale on the evening, as well as our Christmas cards and calendars. Anyone making a purchase on the night will be entered in a draw to win a great hamper sponsored by Maxi Zoo. You can also enter the draw by purchasing a calendar or pack of cards from Maxi Zoo Midleton before the 2nd of November.

We will be joined on the evening by a special guest: Abi the Cat!

We would like to thank the following businesses who kindly sponsored it and helped us to make it possible:

We are also very grateful to Katie McGroarty from Cobh who designed this gorgeous calendar and to Anna, Siobhan and Steph for helping with proofreading.

If you cannot attend on the night, you can still get our calendars and cards from many outlets around the county, see here for a full list. Alternatively, we can mail them to you (p&p to be added). Contact us at communitycatsnetwork@gmail.com with your order and we will let you know how to proceed. Don’t forget to visit our online shop for more gift ideas!

We are very proud of our 2019 calendar, which features the photos and stories of some of the cats we have trapped during the year. It costs €7 and would make an ideal stocking filler or gift to send abroad.

The stories featured are:

The faithful companions from Mallow

Perseverance rewarded in Cloyne

The heart of a town (Mitchelstown)

Visiting some old friends (Midleton)

Last but not least (Clogheen)

The Caretakers of te castle (Lismore)

Let’s not forget the smallies (Glanmire)

Jaime, the softie from Clonmel

Molly from Bandon

The burden of breeding (Banteer)

Gaining the trust (Carrigtwohill)

A young and exemplary carer in Cork City

as well as a photo of a big tom cat from Killeagh for our 13th month!

We would like to thank the following businesses who kindly sponsored it and helped us to make it possible:

We are very grateful to Katie McGroarty from Cobh who designed this gorgeous calendar and to Anna, Siobhan and Steph for helping with proofreading.

Our Christmas cards also feature cats and kittens that CCN have been involved with during the year. You can find the story of each cat inside the card.

The pack of cards costs €5 and contains 6 cards with a different design on each. There are three models to choose from.

Model 4 contains cards that were kindly designed by Katie McGroarty and feature the stories of Little Miss Greedy Guts (Clonmel), the Summer of Love (Waterfall), a large colony in Dungarvan, Bluebell and Sunflower from Charleville, a Carer with a Big Heart in Mallow and a Colony in Ballinacurra.

Model 3 contains cards that were kindly designed by Axelle Rychembusch and feature the stories of a colony in Ardmore, Major Tom from Kilady, a large TNR project in Youghal, a young and beautiful Cork city cat, a well-cared for colony in Midleton and of some unusual customers in Mitchelstown.

Model 2 contains cards that were kindly designed by Axelle Rychembusch and feature the stories of a paradise garden in Ballinhassig; Butch Cassidy, the kitten who broke into a bank in Youghal; a new beginning in Kinsalebeg; Come-On from Whitegate; an inhabited garden in Grenagh and the tiny tortie from Monkstown. **LIMITED AVAILABILITY**

We will be happy to mail them to you (p&p to be added). Contact us at communitycatsnetwork@gmail.com with your order and we will let you know how to proceed. Don’t forget to visit our online shop for more gift ideas!

Alternatively, you can find them at the following businesses:

If you would like to help us by taking a box of cards and calendars in your business or at your office, please email communitycatsnetwork@gmail.com.

This month, we are running an animal photo competition on our fundraising Facebook page, The Cat Purrse. All proceeds will go to the neutering of stray and feral cats in East Cork.

To take part, it’s easy. Buy an entry (or more) online here (€5 per entry) and email your photo to communitycatsnetwork@gmail.com. Your photo will be uploaded on the Cat Purrse’s facebook page where the public can vote for it until the 30th of October. The 5 photos with the most votes will be sent to an independent jury to choose a winner for the pet portrait. Winners will be announced on Facebook on the 31st of October. Submissions are accepted until the 26th of October.

Thank you so much to all the supporters and vet nurses for joining us for the Mini-Marathon last Sunday to raise funds for the cats: Cathy, Angela, Rosie, Susan, Abi, Suzanne, Karolina, Aggie, the Midleton Veterinary Hospital team, the Cloyne Veterinary Clinic team and the other members of the IVNA (Irish Veterinary Nursing Association). Well done to all!

The Midleton Veterinary Hospital team

We had a great day and the sun was shining. We are so grateful for the support we have received and to everyone who sponsored the participants. We don’t have a final figure yet, but know that your support will mean that more cats can be helped.

The cat trappers on the run!

It is not too late to sponsor our own cat trappers and you can do so here.

For the month of September 2018, we are holding a raffle in aid of Community Cats Network’s South Tipperary TNR fund. All proceeds will go to the neutering of stray and feral cats in the Clonmel area. To take part, it couldn’t be easier, just get your tickets here and we will email you your numbers. Tickets are €2 each, €5 for 3 tickets or €10 for 8 tickets.

1st Prize

The more tickets you buy, the more prizes will be added! We will put up a new prize for every 20 tickets sold! To view the prizes, visit The Cat Purrse page.

2nd Prize

The draw will take place on the 30th of Seotember and winners will be announced on the page and contacted via email. Note that if collection cannot be arranged locally (Clonmel), handling & postage will be at your own charge.

For the month of August 2018, we are holding a money box competition to raise funds for TNR at The Cat Purrse. All proceeds will be split amongst our various local TNR funds to help with the neutering of stray and feral cats. It is a fun activity you can do with your kids while teaching them a very valuable lesson of kindness. You can view some ideas here, here and here.

To take part, follow those simple steps:

1- Make a money box. It can be as quirky as you wish. Use your imagination and creativity. Take a photo and email it to communitycatsnetwork@gmail.com. We will post it in a photo album on The Cat Purrse page.

2- Fill it up with your spare change (you can even throw in a few notes!).

3- Towards the middle of August, count the money in your box and lodge it to our bank account or send it via paypal(again, don’t forget to include your name so that we can match it with the money box you have submitted). Once we have received the funds, the photo of your money box will be validated for the competition.

All submissions and funds must be received by the 25th of August.
There will be 3 winners announced on the 31st of August: A- Best money box (public vote) B- Best money box (jury’s choice) C- Best fundraiser

The money box with the most likes on Facebook will win one of those 3 prizes

The money box that raises the most funds will win one of these prizes

The winner for the jury’s choice for best money box will win one of these prizes

Note that entries will only be validated once we have received the funds you have raised. If collection of the prize cannot be arranged locally (Midleton area), the postage will be at your own charge.